


Bodyguard

by reddiegays



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Bickering, Bodyguard, Eddie just wants to do his job, First Kiss, Flirting, I just posted shit on tumblr, M/M, Manhandling, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie is Thirsty, Self-Defense, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Tight Spaces, a cat with an unfortunate name, also I have no idea where I'm going with this, kinda slow burn but kinda not, lots of flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddiegays/pseuds/reddiegays
Summary: When his manager suggests he hire a professional bodyguard to enhance his security, Richie Tozier refuses. Until he meets Eddie Kaspbrak.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak
Comments: 5
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> uploaded as a random series to tumblr. only three parts so far, will update when I have motivation to post to tumblr. hope you like what it is at the moment

If there was one thing Richie Tozier was proud of, it was his fans. They were much like him - loud, desperate for attention and knew how to have a laugh. He’d never particularly worried about his safety. There was the odd overzealous fan who would sneak into his dressing room and take a memento or break into his hotel room. Richie always shrugged it off, even sharing a drink with the fans before his manager, Steve, dragged in hotel security to escort them out. Eventually, he’d had enough and insisted Richie hire his own personal security before things got worse. The comedian was reluctant. It wasn’t his style, he didn’t want to appear unapproachable to his fans. But that all went to shit the moment he met Eddie Kaspbrak.

Richie first met him in his dressing room after one of his shows. Steve had hurried him backstage and through the crowd before he could even say a word, slamming the door behind them. He caught Richie’s eye immediately and he wasn’t disappointed with what he saw. Eddie was shorter than he expected but he was cute, lean, nice smile, lovely eyes. The whole package. Steve was busy pouring drinks, indicating the bodyguard as he did.

“Richie, this is Eddie Kaspbrak, the guy I was telling you about,” Eddie nodded in acknowledgement, accepting his drink of water from Steve. Richie didn’t say anything, choosing instead to glare at his manager. Steve rolled his eyes, knocking back his shot of whiskey, “I know what you’re gonna say, Rich, but that’s three times this week you’ve had a close call. What if next time they’ve got a gun?”

“What, you think he’s gonna stop them?” Richie indicated Eddie, who looked up, frowning slightly. The comedian hadn’t meant to offend him and quickly added, “no offence, man, but you know, you’re like five feet tall.”

“Five nine, jackass. It’s average height.”

It sounded to Richie as though that wasn’t the first Eddie had said that. The thought made him smile. He placed his empty glass on the coffee table and folded his arms, facing Eddie.

“Have you ever beaten anyone up before? And I’m not talking about for lunch money.”

Eddie and Steve exchanged a glance, the latter giving a single quick nod. In an instant, Eddie was on his feet and rolling up the sleeves on his jacket, “okay, asshole, you think you can take me?”

Richie smirked, “are we talking a fight or…?”

“Yeah. A fight.”

Richie wanted to laugh. The man was a little spitfire, small and angry. He wanted to wrap him in a blanket and play with his hair, not fight him. He glanced at Steve, noticing he was setting a handful of tissues and a bottle of whiskey on the table. He shrugged, stepping closer.

“Okay but I don’t wanna hurt-”

Eddie punched him, not hard enough to break his nose but hard enough to knock him off balance and stumble into the chair beside Steve. He held his throbbing jaw as Steve smugly handed over a pre-made ice pack. Richie grumbled, pressing it to his bruised mouth. Eddie sat beside him, tenderly dabbing at the small cut on his lip. Richie stared at him in awe, sighing dramatically.

“Okay, now I’m hard,” Eddie laughed, ducking his head to hide the cute little blush on his face. Richie smiled, too, “and you’re hired.”

* * *

“Well, this is me,” Richie said as he and Eddie entered his apartment. Immediately, the bodyguard swept the apartment, checking the windows and various rooms, “you don’t have to do that. I’ve been away on tour so the place is empty.”

“Does anyone use the apartment whilst you’re gone?” Eddie was frantically tapping away on his phone. Richie shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Nope. I mean, Stan waters the plants and looks after Beef Jerky but apart from that it’s just me.”

Eddie paused his typing, looking up curiously, “Beef Jerky?”

“My cat. BJ for short,” he said with a pleased smirk, “you should see the look on the neighbours faces when I call him in the mornings.”

Eddie didn’t know why but he found himself laughing, shaking his head as he continued to make notes. He’d never had a client make him laugh as much as Richie did. He’d also never enjoyed working a job as much as this one, despite only having had the assignment for a couple of hours. Richie was a great guy, funny, charming and good-looking. His stupid large glasses that kept slipping down his face, his wide goofy smile. Eddie could get lost in his eyes if he wasn’t careful.

“Okay, I’m going to need a list of friends and relatives you trust so I can give them clearance,” Richie nodded understandingly, watching Eddie pace around his messy apartment, “I’m gonna head home. We’ll go over basic defensive procedures in the morning. Here’s my number if you have a concern,” he handed over a card, displaying his personal contact number and emergency number, “lock the door behind me, don’t let anyone in you don’t trust.”

“Do you wanna stick around?” Richie almost blurted out the question, swallowing urgently and slowly adding, “you know, off the clock?”

Eddie looked amused as he removed his coat and jacket, draping them over the chair, “you want me to stay?” Richie nodded quickly, glancing briefly at his hot bodyguard. He’d rolled his sleeves again, the sight nearly making Richie pass out. Eddie, however, smiled at him, folding his arms, “I am kinda hungry. Do you wanna order some food?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Richie smiled softly, moving over to the couch and patting the space beside him like a little kid with a crush. Eddie joined him shyly, keeping a respectable distance much to Richie’s disappointment. He quickly placed an order on his phone, tossing it aside and reaching for a controller, “Street Fighter while we wait?”

Eddie smiled, “you’re on.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, let me get this straight,” Eddie paced Richie’s living room, phone in one hand and the other running through his hair. He’d loosened his tie sometime during the night and rolled his sleeves which made Richie’s heart flutter from where he was watching him stretched out on the couch, “Bill is the writer, Stan is the Jew who likes birds?” He looked to Richie for confirmation, an eyebrow raised at the description his client had provided. The comedian nodded and Eddie continued, scrolling through his phone, “Ben is the hot one, Mike is also hot but librarian hot and Bev is the ‘girl one’?”

“Yep,” Richie said proudly, watching Eddie scroll through the photos and memorised Richie’s ‘inner circle’, “that’s the gang. I don’t really hang out with anyone else. Apart from Steve.”

“And Ben and Bev are married?”

Richie nodded again, stretching as he yawned, “yeah. We dated for a bit actually.”

“You and Bev?” Eddie seemed surprised and, honestly, Richie didn’t blame him. He didn’t exactly look the type to date a fashion designer. But Eddie had something else in mind, “isn’t that awkward? You know, with her husband?”

“Nah, man, it wasn’t real. She was a beard. Totally her idea. Saved my ass actually. Ben’s legit, though. He wouldn’t have cared either way,” Eddie was staring at him as if he’d spoken another language and Richie wanted to laugh, “you know? When a queer dude needs to act straight, he gets a girl to pretend to date him.”

Eddie thought for a moment, unconsciously sitting on the sofa beside Richie, “hmm. I didn’t know that was a thing. That would’ve been handy to know when I came out.”

Richie smiled sympathetically, nudging his arm playfully, “it’s getting late. You can have the spare room, I insist,” he added quickly when Eddie began to protest, “there’s clean pyjamas you can borrow, if you want.”

“Thanks, Richie.”

The comedian slapped his shoulder as he passed, quickly ruffling Eddie’s hair, too. The bodyguard just laughed, watching Richie leave for just a little longer than was necessary.

* * *

Richie woke up to a note on the pillow beside him, informing him that Eddie had left to attend a meeting and that he’d see him later. Richie was still smiling long after he’d climbed out of bed and got himself showered. He’d just entered the living room when someone started pounding on the door, hard. Richie rolled his eyes, expecting Mr. Samson from down the hall, complaining about Beef Jerky as usual. Well, he’d had enough. He wrenched open the door, ready to give Mr. Samson a piece of his mind.

“Look, my cat hasn’t been-”

Richie barely registered who was there before they had a hand to his throat, shoving him back into his flat and against the wall. The grip around his neck wasn’t hard and he glanced down, grinning at Eddie’s disapproving glare.

“You haven’t listened to a fucking word I’ve said!”

“Sorry, bro,” he adjusted his glasses in an attempt to look cool despite the fact that Eddie’s hand on his neck was quite the distraction, “uh, do it again.”

“What, and you’ll suddenly remember?”

"Yeah, sure, just do it again,” Richie tried not to seem so desperate but something had awakened in him the moment Eddie pushed him against the wall. He’d liked it and it was embarrassing how much he wanted it. He grinned cheekily, appearing casual, “harder, this time. Don’t be afraid to rough me up a bit. I’ve gotta learn my lesson.”

Eddie chuckled, releasing his hold on Richie’s neck much to his disappointment, “couldn’t hurt to teach you one or two things. Go get changed, I’ll make room.”

Richie left for his bedroom quickly, grabbing a spare t-shirt and yoga pants; if he happened to slip into the bathroom for a quick cold shower beforehand, well, that was his business.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you okay?”

Richie nodded, despite the fact that he was flat on his back on his floor panting as if he’d run a marathon. He didn’t care. He was having the time of his life. So far, Eddie had shown him how to escape several scenarios which involved him getting very close to Richie. He’d flipped him, pinned him to the wall, restrained him and even shoved him about a bit. And he’d enjoyed every moment of it, not that he let Eddie know that. He was taking this very seriously, after all. All about safety, nothing to do with the hot guy dominating him. Eddie stood over him, an eyebrow raised curiously as Richie attempted to look natural.

“Yeah, man,” he clutched his side, brushing his sweaty hair out of his face, “I’m getting the hang of this now. Show me the bear hug one again.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, kneeling beside Richie on the floor, “you’re not supposed to be enjoying yourself. This might save your life one day,” he crawled over Richie, settling in his lap and pinned his hands above his head. He smiled in satisfaction at the look of surprise on his client’s face, “now what, genius?”

“Okay, I have questions,” he did but he struggled to remember what they were due to the nice distraction currently sitting on him. Richie swallowed hard, concentrating on the weight of Eddie’s arms pushing on his, “uh, when exactly are fans ever gonna get me in this position?”

“Someone could break into your room,” Eddie justified with a shrug, smirking as he teased Richie some more, “problem?”

Richie rolled them over with ease, taking his turn to pin his opponent’s wrists to the ground, “nope. Just having fun.”

Eddie smiled, sitting up into a more comfortable position. Richie still hadn’t moved from his lap and they were practically face to face. For some reason, Eddie was transfixed. He’d never noticed how beautiful Richie’s eyes were, magnified by his glasses. He adjusted them nervously, a cute little confused crease appearing at his brow. Eddie looked away quickly and leapt to his feet.

“Um, I have some errands to run before the show tonight.”

“Oh, yeah sure,” Richie also jumped to his feet, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat. He grabbed a towel, running it over his hair and face, “anything interesting?”

“Just going to see my boyfriend.”

And just like that, Richie’s world came crashing down. Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic but he was definitely upset. He played it casually, nodding nonchalantly, “oh. Cool, cool.”

“Yep, finally gonna be rid of that cheating fucker,” he finished with a small smile, zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. Richie tried not to look to pleased with the news, instead patting his shoulder sympathetically.

“Oh, shit, sorry, dude.”

“Don’t be. I should have seen it coming. It was a bad relationship. I just want out of it now.”

Richie nodded understandingly, having been through more than his fair share of bad relationships, “hey, you want some back up? I know some great self defence moves.”

“No, but thank you,” Eddie chuckled, smiling gratefully as his client, his kind, big-hearted, goofy client. He was really glad he’d taken this assignment. Before he could stop himself, he was hugging Richie, “I’ll see you at the show tonight. Call me if you need me.”

Richie hugged him back, not wanting to let go. But he did and Eddie was leaving, shooting him a wink as he left the apartment. Richie just collapsed onto his couch, grinning like a love struck fool.

* * *

Eddie had never laughed so much in his life. And he didn’t even know what so funny. Richie’s jokes were crude, childish and downright gross at times but his stage presence was so captivating. He would occasionally let out a laugh or two at his own jokes and it was charming. He’d even mentioned Eddie once or twice, much to the amusement of Steve. He often smiled knowingly at Eddie, causing him to blush.

Richie almost hurried backstage in his haste to see his bodyguard. He couldn’t pretend he was looking forward to anything else other than seeing Eddie. He was waiting to safely escort him to his dressing room, holding out a fresh glass of whiskey.

“A man after my own heart,” Richie chuckled, throwing an arm around Eddie’s neck as he knocked back the searing liquid, wincing, “shit, that’s the stuff.”

“Most people I work for drink water after a show.”

He grimaced, “boring.”

They turned the corner and headed down the corridor towards Richie’s dressing room when Eddie stopped them dead, pulling Richie close to the wall. The comedian frowned, glancing down the corridor where Eddie was staring. A group of people were engaged in conversation near the dressing rooms.

“Shit,” he hissed, gesturing at the smartly dressed man talking to a member of the venue’s staff, “that’s Mark! I can’t believe he fucking followed me here!”

Richie stared down the corridor, making a show of rolling his sleeves, “okay. Been a while since I kicked someone’s ass.”

Before he could even take a step in Mark’s direction, Richie was pulled into a narrow cleaning cupboard by Eddie; he slammed the door behind them and slapped a hand to Richie’s mouth, motioning for him to be quiet. When Eddie finally released him, Richie looked more than a little amused.

“Really?” He mumbled, attempting fold his arms but the lack of space meant he only ended up nudging Eddie, “the big bad bodyguard has to hide from Hugh Grant out there?”

Eddie frowned, shoving Richie harshly, “shut the fuck up.”

“Yeah, you’re more like small and cute, am I right?” He lifted an arm to playfully pinch at the shorter man’s cheeks, “cute, cute, cute!”

“Richie, fuck off,” Eddie swatted at his hand, leaning towards the door to peer outside, “he’s still hanging around. Do you think we should-”

Richie took hold of his shoulders and pushed him back against the wall, breathing deeply as he whispered, “don’t quit if I do this.”

Before he lost his nerve, Richie quickly leaned down and kissed Eddie.


End file.
